A vehicle, such as an automobile, includes two or four doors allowing for ingress and egress. Each door includes a door panel facing externally and a trim panel connected to the door panel and facing inwardly toward a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The door panel is typically formed of metal and the trim panel is typically formed of polymeric material such as plastic, vinyl, etc.
The trim panel provides an aesthetic appearance in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The trim panel may include a shell and a console supported on the shell. The console may support several features such as a finger well for opening and closing a door, switches for automatic windows and door locks, etc.
An armrest is mounted to trim panel and/or the console for supporting the arm of an occupant of the vehicle while the occupant rides in the vehicle and for supporting the occupant during ingress and egress. The armrest and the console are subject to durability requirements. Specifically, the console, along with the connection between the console and the shell of the trim panel, is designed to withstand repeated pushing and pulling associated with opening and closing the door. The armrest, along with the connection between the armrest and the shell of the trim panel, is designed to withstand forces exerted on the armrest by the occupant during ingress and egress, and to withstand forces exerted on the armrest by the occupant while travelling in the vehicle. Accordingly, the console and the armrest are formed to be rigid and the shell, console, and armrest are designed to be rigidly connected to each other.
During an impact of the vehicle, such as a side impact, oblique impact, rollover, etc., the door panel may bow inwardly, forcing the trim panel inwardly toward the occupant. The door is coincidentally designed such that the armrest is aligned laterally with the ribs of the occupant. As such, as the door panel bows inwardly during an impact, the door panel may force the armrest into the ribs of the occupant.
Competing design factors exist due to the desire to design the armrest to be rigid to support the occupant, e.g., during ingress and egress and during travel, versus the desire to avoid or reduce injury to the ribs of the occupant during an impact. There remains an opportunity to design an armrest assembly that avoids these competing design factors.